Helen was born Sept. 16, 1920, in Monroe, Wis., and spent her formative years in the Swiss community of New Glarus, Wis., where her father was a cheesemaker.

She met her husband of 52 years, Marvin F. Schwenn, in Madison, Wis. After a short time in New York City, where Marvin joined Union Carbide Corp. and the Manhattan Project at Columbia University, they relocated to Oak Ridge, Tenn., in August of 1944. In the early days of building a community in Oak Ridge, Helen and her husband were involved in many civic and social activities. Her primary focus was as a homemaker and on her family.

She was a loving mother who will be dearly missed by her two daughters, Carolyn Schwenn of Knoxville and Margaret Bartuch of Oak Ridge.

Helen was active at the Art Center of Oak Ridge, volunteered at the Methodist Medical Center gift shop, and was involved in many activities at Grace Lutheran Church. She and her husband enjoyed traveling in the United States and abroad, and many weekends were spent with the family on Norris Lake. Helen loved to entertain friends and was an avid gardener, bird watcher and bridge player.